The El Paso County Attorney's Office is about to file a lawsuit against the city of Socorro in an effort to stop its annexation plan that includes taking over a section of San Elizario.

The decision was announced Monday during the county Commissioners Court's meeting. Socorro officials said they had not seen the lawsuit and, therefore, would not comment.

The county will move forward with its legal option to halt the annexation process because the authority of the current Socorro City Council is in question, said County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal.

Bernal referred to a petition in state district court that alleges council members are illegally holding office after the state Attorney General's Office found that the council violated state law by extending term lengths without going to the voters first.

"The Commissioners Court and the County Attorney's Office, we're going to pursue legal options to try to stop the city of Socorro from proceeding with its annexation plans," Bernal said.

"That is not to say the county of El Paso will not continue to negotiate with the city of Socorro because they will, and we intend to negotiate in good faith," she added.

The decision to file the suit was made after the Socorro City Council on Thursday officially introduced the ordinance that proposes to annex land, including a part of unincorporated San Elizario.

Socorro took action despite the ultimatum the County Attorney's Office gave the city last week to stop the annexation process.

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City of Socorro spokesman David Garcia said officials will wait and see what the lawsuit has to say before making any comments.

"We don't know what they are going to put in it, so we don't know how to react to it," Garcia said.

County Commissioner Vince Perez said Socorro's action to move forward with the annexation plan was made after he and Bernal met with Socorro officials last week in an effort to postpone the annexation until the controversy over the extension of terms is settled.

"It just seems to me that they are not really negotiating in good faith," Perez said.

Socorro City Manager Willie Norfleet Jr. told the El Paso Times on Thursday the city's main concern is whether the county will continue with the lawsuit after a decision is reached on whether the council is in office legally.

Perez said the county probably won't have a case to proceed with once the controversy over the authority of council to be in office is resolved.